The present invention relates to roller chain conveyors of the type having wire or rod cross flights to support transported articles, and more particularly to a conveyor chain attachment to which wire or rod flights can be releasably attached without the use of special tools.
Roller chain conveyors are widely used to transport articles in various industrial applications. In many applications it is desirable to use cross flights made of wire or rod to support the conveyed articles. Cross flights of this type exhibit the advantage of providing support for the articles while contacting only a minimum surface area of the article being conveyed. This is particularly useful in heating, cooling, washing, drying and similar operations where it is desirable to expose a maximum amount of the surface area of the conveyed article.
There exist, in the prior art, numerous roller chain conveyors having wire or rod cross flights. The cross flights are attached to the conveyor chain in several ways, as shown by those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,094,206 issued on June 18, 1963 to Stewart, et al.; 3,252,564 issued on May 24, 1966 to Stewart et al.; 3,363,744, issued on Jan. 16, 1968, to Green, et al.; 3,653,493 issued on Apr. 4, 1972 to Kerr; 3,708,059, issued on Jan. 2, 1973 to Ackermann; 3,910,406 issued on Oct. 7, 1975 to Pulver, et al. and 4,128,165, issued on Dec. 5, 1978 to Euverard.
Those conveyor chains having wire cross flights directly attached to the chain are undesirable because replacement of a particular cross flight requires that a portion of the chain itself be disassembled and/or replaced, often requiring the use of special tools. The difficulty encountered in maintaining and mounting the cross flights results in excessive downtime in a system employing conveyor chain of this type.
Known conveyor chains employing a chain attachment to which the cross flights are, in turn, connected, such as the two-part clip disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,406 are undesirable because the cross flights may tend to work themselves loose during operation resulting in the cross flights or entire attachment falling off the chain.
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide a snap-on attachment for an articulated roller chain which releasably, holds a wire or rod cross flight for conveying articles.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an articulated roller chain conveyor having wire or rod cross flights in which the cross flights are easily mounted on and removed from the chain without the use of special tools.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the entire disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings.